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Tuesday, 29 April 2014

decluttering & decisions

Whenever I have a new fabric or a fragment of an idea in mind, sometime after 4pm & sometime before getting dinner sorted, I sit down with a glass of vino & enjoy looking thru' my latest quilting magazine or one of my patchwork books, admiring & drawing inspiration from others. And I am thinking alot of us still get our inspiration & creativity from the old quilts, yes? We can make something similar, or we re-interpret the traditional into a modern- fusion version, or we use them as a beginning & then wander off along our own creative path.

The other day, on a bit of a mission, I sorted thru' quilting magazines I had in a box under the spare bed and another recent pile that was inhabiting my fabric shelving. The odd one did date back to 2001 I must admit! (Hey, that's what happens when you don't move house for over 40yrs -you should see my husband's garage!).

Decluttering I think it's called! and admittedly the modern minimalistic look can be very pleasing. There's now a lovely restful empty space on my shelving unit! No wonder real estate agents do this when selling your house, your home. It's like a blank canvas! But I digress...

I did find several patterns in those old magazines that still appeal to me - for another quilt/another time. Right now thou', I do want to use some old vintage sheets & pillow cases that were also cluttering up that shelf..

and a small, but pretty selection (that's in the postal system somewhere) from the new Dreamin' Vintage range by Jeni Baker @ http://www.incolororder.com/. The internet dispenses a daily dose of inspiration too and I came across a couple of ideas that appeal. So,while things are still very much in the planning stages in my mind, I'm thinking along the lines of either largish retro flowers like this one -

or something like Jeni's 1/2 Square Triangle Sampler quilt -

I don't have patterns for either idea, am sure I can wander along a similar path with my own version, but before I start cutting any fabric I still have questions... I am wondering if my old vintage & the "new" vintage will blend nicely together? and do I throw in a low volume selection? or have just one main background colour? And then, of course, which way do I go with the pattern - retro flowers? or 1/2 square triangles? Decisions decisions! Your thoughts?

Oh, and all the magazines?

well, I've donated them to the local op shop.
(thanx to Melanie for the suggestion)
Linking up with Lee's WIP Wednesday

8 comments:

New to linking up with Lee but wanted to share that I love the retro flowers and would choose a low volume as well. I loved your description of the design process. I have the problem of laying in bed trying to fall asleep with all these ideas running through my mind!

You might just need to wait and see what the fabrics look like together once that package arrives in the post. There are often just too many options within the quilting world... it certainly doesn't make it any easier to get things done. Well done on the organising though, must be an autumn thing, as I've been searching through old magazines too.

I'm fretting over vintage sheets from Jeni too this week! I agree with Suz above - you should get a short list of ideas together but definitely wait till you have all the fabrics together to make a final decision. Good luck!

Thanks so much for taking the time to leave me a comment. I love to hear your thoughts. For those of you who are a 'no-reply' blogger, I will respond within the comments section, so please do check back if you've asked a question or wish to chat. Happy sewing!

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Hi I'm Linda, and I live in Auckland, New Zealand. I am a mother of two grown up children & granny to three now! I've been making quilts on & off for a few years, I particularly enjoy making colourful scrappy quilts. I am sharing bits and bobs of my quilty journey here.